"The needle I want to move is ... how do we get people out walking and biking rather than just for fun?" Wiggins said.

That includes working with city officials to think beyond cars when planning road projects.

Buy Photo

Jeff Wiggins, Des Moines' active transportation planner, puts on his coat Feb. 7 before riding from his home near Drake University to his job in downtown Des Moines.(Photo: Brian Powers/The Register)

Des Moines has already started down that road. The city adopted a mobility plan last fall. Connect Downtown calls for eliminating nearly every one-way street downtown, reducing the number of vehicle lanes and growing the city's network of bike lanes.

Another plan — MoveDSM — would apply the same bike- and pedestrian-friendly approach to neighborhoods. A final draft is expected in May.

Wiggins is tasked with other duties like helping Drake University develop more walkable spaces on campus and finding a way to incorporate bike lanes and sidewalks into the redesign of Sixth Avenue north of downtown.

"He’s going to have a very full plate because there are so many projects around the city that have been talked about, but the city hasn’t had the staffing capacity to address them," said Larry James, chairman of the Urban Land Institute of Iowa.

Buy Photo

Jeff Wiggins, Des Moines' active transportation planner, prepares to ride through snow Feb. 7 to his job in downtown Des Moines. He was hired in December to get more Des Moines residents to leave their cars at home and find alternative modes of transportation.(Photo: Brian Powers/The Register)

Dozens of cycling advocates showed up to budget hearings last year to encourage city leaders to create the active transportation position. City Manager Scott Sanders backed the idea.

Des Moines employs traffic and civil engineers who plan roads and trails. But it did not have anyone focused on bike and pedestrian issues who could work across multiple departments.

"I want him to continuously be an advocate for biking and transit issues wherever possible because I feel like the city reverts to favoring motor vehicle transportation over everything else," said Scott Bents, a member of the city's Transportation Safety Committee.

Originally from suburban Chicago, Wiggins taught French at Coe College in Cedar Rapids for 13 years before a conversation over a beer sent him down a new path. It happened when a friend told him he should stop philosophizing about changing the world and do something.

Posted!

A link has been posted to your Facebook feed.

Buy Photo

Jeff Wiggins, Des MoinesÕ active transportation planner, puts on his coat before riding his bike to work on Wednesday, Feb. 7, 2018, in Des Moines. For the past 11 years Wiggins was working in Cheyenne, Wyoming where he helped plan and execute a system of recreational trails. Now heÕs in Des Moines to direct the cityÕs multi-modal transportation plans as well as on-street bicycle facilities.
Brian Powers/The Register

Jeff Wiggins, Des MoinesÕ active transportation planner, puts on his helmet before riding his bike to work on Wednesday, Feb. 7, 2018, in Des Moines. Wiggins said he rides his bike to work nearly every day, reserving his car for just a few days when its really bad. Brian Powers/The Register

Jeff Wiggins, Des MoinesÕ active transportation planner, rides his bike to work on Wednesday, Feb. 7, 2018, in Des Moines. For the past 11 years Wiggins was working in Cheyenne, Wyoming where he helped plan and execute a system of recreational trails. Now heÕs in Des Moines to direct the cityÕs multi-modal transportation plans as well as on-street bicycle facilities.
Brian Powers/The Register

Jeff Wiggins, Des MoinesÕ active transportation planner, rides along Cottage Grove ave. on his way to work on Wednesday, Feb. 7, 2018, in Des Moines. For the past 11 years Wiggins was working in Cheyenne, Wyoming where he helped plan and execute a system of recreational trails. Now heÕs in Des Moines to direct the cityÕs multi-modal transportation plans as well as on-street bicycle facilities.
Brian Powers/The Register

Jeff Wiggins, Des MoinesÕ active transportation planner, unhooks his pannier at his office downtown after riding his bike to work on Wednesday, Feb. 7, 2018, in Des Moines. He said he enjoys the speed at which you get to see a place when you ride a bike. Brian Powers/The Register

Interested in this topic? You may also want to view these photo galleries:

He began studying urban planning and transportation at the University of Iowa. After earning another master's degree he went to work in Cheyenne, Wyoming, where he helped create the city's network of recreational trails.

Twelve years later he finds himself in Des Moines where his focus is more on streets than trails.

Wiggins bikes into downtown along the shoulder of Martin Luther King Jr. Parkway despite the recreational trail that runs along the road.

He's not there for recreation, he says. Just like the motorists passing him on the slushy road, he's trying to get to work.

Wiggins says not worried about improving roads for cyclists like himself — the ones already confident enough to bike alongside vehicle traffic.